A presentation on building organisational co-design capability, shared as part of Master Class for Design 4 Social Innovation Conference in Sydney, 2014. http://design4socialinnovation.com.au/ For a little more context on the slides and the handout used as the basis for discussion in the MasterClass see: http://www.smallfire.co.nz/2014/10/22/building-organisational-co-design-capability/

1. Taking the next step:
Building organisational
co-design capability
@pennyhagen
Design 4 Social Innovation Masterclass
October 2014
S M A L L F I R E.

2. With thanks to:
Max Adler – Auckland Council
Library Staff - Auckland University of Technology
Mal Booth – University of Technology, Sydney
Andrew Old – Auckland District Health Board
Hilary Boyd – Auckland District Health Board
Natalie Rowland – redrollers research
Ingrid Burkett – Knode.com.au
Kitty Rahilly & Mim Nicholas – Reachout.com
Grant Young – Indigenous Digital Excellence, NCIE
Mark Bunzten – Distillery
Stephen McKernon - Supplejack
John Hatrick-Smith – BetterbyDesign
Chris Jackson - DNA
And our many
participants and
co-designers.

3. The landscape
Design
Thinking
Transformation Social design
design
Co-design
Participatory
design
Experience-based
design
Co-creation
Design for social
innovation
Co-production
Service Design

4. Organisation Community
Co-design is:
Working with the
community as
active participants
in the design
process, to create
shared value

5. Organisation Community
Co-design is:
Increasing our
impact by working
with the
community to
reframe issues and
identify new, more
effective ways to
work and respond

6. Organisation Community
Co-design is:
Necessarily
relinquishing
some control and
power

7. Building Organisational Co-design Capability happens across (at least) three levels
• Commitment to working with
• Openness to emergent outcomes
Culture,
Philosophy &
Mindset
• Protocols and structures to support
Infrastructure &
Resources
Skills & Tools
engagement (recruitment, ethics,
relationships)
• Skills & confidence to work with
community as active design participants

8. Different “Ways In” – different organisations start in different places – it’s not linear
Culture,
Philosophy &
Mindset
Infrastructure &
Resources
Skills & Tools

9. Culture,
Philosophy &
Mindset
Infrastructure &
Resources
Skills & Tools
Different “Ways In”

10. Different “Ways In” – the journey is different for each organisation
Culture,
Philosophy &
Mindset
Infrastructure &
Resources
Skills & Tools

11. Different “Ways In”
“Build confidence
and small wins….”
BUILDING MOMENTUM

12. Different “Ways In”
“Celebrate and
socialise”
BUILDING MOMENTUM

13. Different “Ways In”
“Constant
advocacy”
BUILDING MOMENTUM

14. Different “Ways In”
“enabling learning and
experience to develop over an
extended period through
assistance by external experts”
BUILDING MOMENTUM

15. Different “Ways In”
“setting up temporary structures
through a project, and then
finding ways to make them
permanent”
BUILDING MOMENTUM

16. Culture,
Philosophy &
Mindset
Infrastructure &
Resources
Skills & Tools
What are your “ways in” ?

17. Reflect on:
What are you already doing?
What might be your “ways
in” (or path of least resistance)

18. CASE STUDY, QUESTIONS &
DISCUSSION

19. Q.1
What capability might the project find easiest to build - culture,
resources, or skills?
In what ways is this different or similar to your own projects or
experience?
Q.2
Q.3
All
What challenges might the team face when bringing co-design into the
organisation? How might these be mitigated?
How can the organisation best prepare the project to build capability?
How can the coaches prepare?

20. Q.1 What challenges might the team face when bringing co-design into the
organisation? How might these be mitigated?

21. Resistance
Four common points of “resistance” I’ve often seen encountered on the
journey, and ways to respond.

22. “But we are
already user
centred”
Moving from an inside-out
to an outside-in
view is a key
transformational point
on the journey
“Most of us would say we are
user centred and always have
been, but that has often been
from the point of view of what
we think the users want, rather
than seeing the users as active
participants in the planning
process.”
AUT Library

23. “But users
don’t know
what they
want/need”
Co-design tools and techniques
enable meaningful participation
beyond consultation or “asking”,
through mutual learning and the
construction of new futures

24. Aspects of the design
process can be
challenging, and hard
to teach.
In particular the
process of analysis and
synthesis
(convergence), and
comfort with
ambiguity and
emergence.
Doing the
‘design’ bit
Discover Define Develop Deliver

25. Doing the
“Learning by doing…like
action research”
‘design’ bit AUT: Library
“Learning how not to start
with knowing”
UTS: Library
“When you have lived and
breathed it a bit you are
happy living with the
ambiguity, and uncertainty
of that.”
ADHB
Discover Define Develop Deliver

26. Doing the
‘design’ bit
Find people that
have an affinity to
this way of working
Ensure there is time
in the process for
learning and teaching
as well as doing
Provide some
navigational cues for
people about what
to expect

27. Language
(and
process)
The language of design
can appear
inconsistent and varies
depending on the
practitioner or agency.
It can also introduce
barriers and be
alienating to those
from different
backgrounds and
disciplines.

28. Work towards a
shared language and
understanding of
terms and process
Work with the
culture, and with
existing expertise
Pause, and assess
what will work best
in each environment
Language
(and
process)

29. Q.2 What capability might the project find easiest to build - culture,
resources, or skills?

30. Different “ways in”
The value of different approaches and models for building different
kinds of capability

31. Models &
Sources
Practical application of
co-design to the
organisation
Training
Toolkits
Books
Free Meet Ups
Google
Trying Stuff
….guided by someone
familiar with the
process

32. Q.3 How can the organisation best prepare the project to build capability?
How can the coaches prepare?

33. Organisational Readiness

34. Organisational
readiness
• A willingness to hand over some control
• A desire for change
• An ability to resource it
• A commitment to following through
• Senior Leadership support/buy in
• Clarity around what you want to achieve

35. External Coach
Readiness
• Ability to open up the process
• A commitment to sharing expertise

36. Final thoughts…

37. “It’s not an
overnight
thing…”

38. You’ll need a
champion
But everyone can (and
should) be involved

39. Start
somewhere
Start
anywhere
“Even if you adopt these
approaches only to a
limited extent, they will
expand your knowledge
of your users and their
experiences of your
service” AUT staff Member

40. Think beyond the project
Project structures are not helpful for sustainability of insights, momentum
into implementation and adoption, or for building relationships
Think about the change process needed to adopt new service and systems
Think about building co-design capability as talent development
Think about ongoing involvement and structures for people to stay
involved – both staff, users and external coaches
Think about ongoing partnerships and networks with other organisations,
universities or departments.
.

41. Thank you